Rock-Paper-Sword
by YugamiYoshitsune
Summary: Shortly after Simon begins his mentorship with Metis, little Athena and Juniper have their first and only argument... Pre-UR-1 Space Center fluff.


It was an afternoon in July, almost painfully bright and hazy with heat, when nearly ten-year-old Athena had her first and only argument with Juniper.

Since Junie could not stand the excessive warmth as it aggravated her asthma, they had chosen to stay inside the Space Center today. Huddled in a corner of the spacious psychology lab, they were constructing a house out of Legos, complete with furniture. At the moment, they were by themselves, as everyone had left for lunch in the mess hall, but Athena had had a late breakfast, and had begged her mother to be allowed to stay so her companion would not have to leave.

Juniper was her best friend, and the only one who was human and nine-and-three-quarter years old, just like her. Also, she was one of only two people whose hearts did not _yell _at her all the time. Miss Aura's, Clay's, Mr. Starbuck's, and even Mommy's were so _loud _sometimes… but Junie's whispered more than it shouted, and even if she got sad here and there, which was her loudest emotion by far whenever it happened, her heart emitted quiet sobs rather than the storm of wailing which sometimes surfaced in Miss Aura's, for example. Maybe it was because most adults did not _show _their feelings on their faces, and keeping them inside only made them stronger, more like a bow scritching too hard across the strings of a violin.

As for the other person whose heart was usually calm, albeit in a more reserved way than Juniper's…

Athena placed a yellow Lego block on the green plate with raised nubs, closing a hole in the wall on which they were currently working.

"I saw you talking to Simon the other day. You're not scared of him anymore?"

When Miss Aura's brother had first begun visiting about a month ago, Juniper had trembled at the mere sight of him, and Athena could understand why. Simon was always dressed all in black, taller than anyone else they knew, had a very low voice, and his face was serious. She had not dared to talk to him for about a week, herself, especially since she _knew _his sister had a nasty temper sometimes, and did not want to find out the hard way that he was like her.

However, when she had finally shyly introduced herself, he had immediately told her that she did not need to call him 'Mr. Blackquill,' or 'Mr. Simon,' for that matter.

_"Your politeness honors you, as well as your family, but there's no need for all that. I am here to learn from your mother, and we will see each other often. 'Simon' will do, even if my sister insists on being stuffy."_

Simon had smiled at her then, and she had realized that he was a lot kinder than he appeared on the outside. Not only that, his heart, though it was fundamentally different from Juniper's and sounded as though it _could _possess that scritching edge if push really came to shove, emitted a comfortable, cool tranquility which was immediately soothing enough that she dared to take her headphones off in his presence, even though she was not supposed to. She had then asked him what this "honor" thing was, and he had patiently explained that one had honor if one was doing the right thing, and was brave, honest, and polite at all times, like a samurai. Athena had known what that was, since her Mommy liked Japanese things a lot, and they had talked a bit about the old Steel Samurai show they aired on TV in the early evenings, which Simon told her he had often watched reruns of while studying. Then, Mommy had come out of Miss Aura's lab to greet him, and he had winked at Athena before walking down the corridor with her.

When she had first told Juniper about it, her friend had not believed her. _"Really, Athena? He still looks totally scary to me…"_

And now, just the other day, she had seen her regular visitor approaching the entrance of the Space Center from the window at the same time as Simon, and when she had hesitated upon seeing him, he had turned toward her and said something. The soundproofing of the building was good enough that Athena had not managed to overhear their conversation even with her sensitive ears, but she _had _seen that Junie had been smiling before both of them had entered through the big double doors.

The corners of Juniper's lips curved up again now as she finished making a slightly out-of-proportion potted plant for the corner of their living room.

"You _said_ he was nice a couple of weeks ago, right? I know I've been a big scaredy-cat, but…"

She blushed a little. "He _is _really nice, isn't he?"

Athena was suddenly a bit annoyed when she saw the rosy red on her friend's cheeks appear, and heard a note that she had only ever gotten before when Miss Aura talked to Mommy.

"Yeah, and when I'm all grown up, I'm gonna marry him!"

Junie looked at her skeptically. "You can't just decide that by yourself!"

"Totally can!" Athena let the Lego block she was holding fall to the ground as she put her hands on her hips. "Mommy once told me that when she saw Daddy for the first time, she _knew _she was going to marry him… and I saw Simon first, so there!"

That would teach Junie that she could not just come in after _three whole weeks _and steal him away from her.

Juniper, however, did not seem to want to give up just yet. "Hey, but… but maybe he _doesn't _wanna marry you! When I talked to him, he told me how much he likes watching birds and stuff, and that he has his own _hawk_! Maybe he'd like to live in the deep woods with me, and not in this stupid old lab!"

The _scritch _from her heart made Athena only angrier.

"Oh yeah? When _I _talked to him, we both said that we liked the Steel Samurai a lot – Simon's a samurai, you know? And I know all this Japanese-y stuff 'cuz Mommy likes it, and he's learning things from Mommy, so he'd probably want to be here more than in your stupid woods!"

"The woods aren't _stupid_, Thena!" Junie frowned, and the voice of her heart became even more _scritchy_.

Athena paid no attention to the door opening behind her when she suggested hotly, "Okay, fine, let's do 'Rock-Paper-Sword' to decide, just like they do on the Steel Samurai show when they don't want to fight!"

"Oh? What are you girls trying to _decide _then? Sure sounds pretty serious, if _fighting_'s the alternative." Miss Aura had come in, and when Athena looked over her shoulder, she saw Simon standing behind his sister.

She glanced back at Juniper, who was starting to _blush _again, and once more became angry.

"Hold your hand out, Junie, 'cuz here I come! One, two, _three!_"

Athena's sword cut her friend's paper.

"Hah! See? I'm gonna marry him!"

Miss Aura emitted a disbelieving snorting sound. "Hold on… you're deciding on who gets to _marry _someone with a game? And who's the lucky guy?"

"Simon!" Athena grinned triumphantly.

The room was silent for a moment.

Then, the engineer suddenly began to bark out a laugh, loudly enough for Athena's hands to twitch upwards and clamp over her headphones, while she pounded on poor Clonco's head with her hand.

"Oh my, brother dearest, the two little ladies are _fighting _over you! I have to admit I don't see how _you're _a catch, but maybe it takes a nine-year-old or two to find your redeeming qualities!"

Simon's face was now slowly becoming as red as Junie's had, gaining in color the longer Miss Aura's cackling laughter lasted.

Without waiting for him to say anything in return, his sister turned on her heels and gave Clonco a smack. "C'mon, hunk of junk, let's leave this Romeo with his adoring fans! Hey, Metis! You've _got _to hear this…"

The door closed behind her, leaving Simon standing next to it while looking at the two girls with a raised eyebrow, his flush slowly going away again.

Athena was a bit worried when he did not speak for a while. Had she made him angry?

"Um, I mean, I'm not gonna marry you if you don't wanna…"

He snorted, almost exactly like his sister had before. "I'm flattered by your interest, but maybe we should wait with that decision until you're a little _older_."

There was no _scritch _to the voice of his heart. He was not annoyed with her, although he, too, seemed to find her resolution to tie the knot with him really funny now.

Simon stepped closer to see what they had been building, sinking to one knee.

"Ah, is this going to be a house?"

Juniper managed to answer before Athena could. "Yeah. Wanna play the dad? Thena stinks at it!"

"Hey!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I suppose I _will_ for a short while, if you promise to stop arguing."

Both girls quickly agreed.

As he reached for the little figure with a hard hat on, the only male Lego person Athena had been able to scrounge up in her bucket, he muttered so quietly that even she could barely hear it, "If this is the price I have to pay for _not _having Dr. Cykes laugh at me right away…"

Later, when Simon went to join Mommy in the other lab, Athena _did _hear her mother's laughter for a short moment, but it did not sound as loud or slightly mean as Miss Aura's.

She reconciled with Junie in short order, as her best friend quickly forgot about their fight, and resolved that she would not tell anyone that she would marry Simon again any time soon – not because she had changed her mind, but because none of them thought she was serious about this, as was so often the case.

_I'll grow up first, and then you'll all see._

There _was _such a thing as first dibs, after all.


End file.
